Tensions emerged Wednesday in a newly announced alliance between al-Qaida’s franchise in Iraq and the most powerful Syrian rebel faction, which said it was not consulted before the Iraqi group announced their merger and only heard about it through the media.

The 2013 State of the Media report shows that newsrooms have cut their staff by 30 percent since 2000.

With newsrooms at their lowest capacity since 1978, journalists are worried about job prospects and many avid news consumers doubt the quality of information.

A veteran rescue swimmer has been charged with desertion after he went missing for three months and triggered a massive search, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

Petty Officer 1st Class Russell Matthews faces three other charges including being absent without leave, wrongful use and possession of a controlled substance, and causing the Coast Guard to conduct a search when there was no need, said Chief Warrant Officer Gene Maestas, a Coast Guard spokesman. An Article 32 hearing — the military equivalent of a grand jury hearing — will be held to determine if there’s enough evidence for Matthews to be tried in a court-martial.

The financially beleaguered Postal Service backpedaled on its plan to end Saturday mail delivery, conceding Wednesday that its gamble to compel congressional approval had failed.

With limited options for saving money, the governing board said the agency should reopen negotiations with unions to lower labor costs and consider raising mail prices.